Two years ago, Emmanuel Lamur arrived at the open of Organized Team Activities as a long shot rookie free agent enjoying the excitement of strapping on an NFL helmet for the first time.

Last year, Lamur took on his first day knowing he'd overcome long odds that leave most in his position searching for employment and established himself in the good graces of an NFL franchise along with the possibility of future millions.

The Bengals linebacker remembers those days and those life-changing feelings.

Neither compared to Tuesday.

"The way I felt (Tuesday), I had a zeal," said Lamur, who turns 25 in two weeks. "I was super excited. I'm not saying I wasn't excited for these past two OTAs, but just being back out and being back, just the smell of the grass, I was happy. It was crazy. I was just grateful to be out there and having fun and focusing on each and every rep and trying to get better."

For most, these days offer another formality in the process to training camp. With little fan fare or physicality, practices unfold to provide a base for August.

Not for Lamur, however. Ever since dislocating his shoulder Aug. 29 of last year and subsequently spending all of the 2013 on injured reserve, this date hovered in the distance like a lighthouse against an ocean horizon.

Where teammates traveled the country, Lamur rehabbed. Where others enjoyed vacations with family, Lamur rehabbed. While Cincinnati set a record for number of days accumulating snow the Jamaican-born and South Florida raised Lamur stayed. And rehabbed.

"I put all the fun aside and stayed focused on getting healthy," Lamur said. "The one thing that was on my mind was to get healthy and get back to work."

The Bengals happily rewarded him with the current starting outside linebacker spot next to Rey Maualuga and Vontaze Burfict.

Even in the NFL land of the freakishly gifted, Lamur stands out. At 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds he tracks with the speed of a safety, where he played part of the time at Kansas State, but hits with the power of a thick upper body chiseled to a uniquely athletic frame.

His role was predicted to expand in 2013. His hybrid skill set fit perfectly in the new pass-happy NFL. Only coaches knew the havoc they would allow him the opportunity to wreak once the season kicked off in Chicago.

Lamur never made it past the final preseason game.

Coaches love Lamur. They always have since he grind out a spot on the practice squad his rookie year in 2011. He ended up playing the final nine games that season including his first career start in the playoff loss at Houston. His rare combination of size and speed made coaches feelings swoon, but the real attachment stems from the same reason Lamur found himself 100 percent healthy and feeling "zeal" on the first day of 10 monotonous offseason OTAs.

"E-Man has it athletically," said fellow linebacker Vinny Rey. "But the coolest thing about E-Man isn't his athletic ability. It's his desire to get better every day. That's the coolest thing about him. He's always asking me, sometimes, it's like, 'OK stop asking me.' He's always asking me, 'Vinny, what can I do better? What did you see that I didn't do out there.' It's awesome."

When the Bengals released Harrison, coaches moved Lamur not only into his starting position but fittingly into his old locker smack between Rey and Burfict.

Burfict jabs Lamur about his responses to questions then Rey marvels describing Lamur's incredible appetite and the time he watched him hammer 20 wings in one quick sitting.

Regardless, the smile as much a part of Lamur as his island accent never fades. It wouldn't these days. Not considering all the sacrifices to return to this point and opportunity plotted in front of him.

The first two years living a dream in the NFL were nice, but spending all of last season watching from the sidelines made the dream resonate in only the way fear of losing it can.

"Just being grateful for each and every opportunity that I have here," Lamur said. "Just being out here and being with the guys and having a good time with the guys and just the blood, sweat and tears with the guys. Just working. It makes you see the game from a different perspective."